Daily Mail

Heading in training is banned for under 11s

- By MIKE KEEGAN

A BAN on heading footballs in training has been introduced across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland for children of Primary School age.

Heading restrictio­ns have also been brought in for Under 18s after research showed former footballer­s were three-and-a-half times more likely to die from brain disease and five times more likely to die from Parkinson’s.

The measures, announced yesterday, recommend a total ban on heading in training for children of primary school age, a maximum of five headers a month for Under 12s, 20 a month for U13s and 40 a month for U16s, with heading drills reduced ‘as far as possible’ between 16-18.

While research into the impact of heading the ball is ongoing, the FA said the new guidance had been issued to ‘mitigate against any potential risks’.

The rules have been introduced following a University of Glasgow study, published in October last year. Dr Willie Stewart, the consultant neuropatho­logist who led the study, was encouraged by the changes and said: ‘A lot more research is needed to understand the factors contributi­ng to increased risk of neurodegen­erative disease in footballer­s. Meanwhile, it is sensible to act to reduce exposure to the only recognised risk factor so far.’

However, Dr Stewart added that he would like to see the measures adopted by the wider game. ‘This is a start but we also need to think about adult football,’ he said. ‘There are instances where profession­al footballer­s head the ball hundreds of times a week. Is it really necessary for that to be in three figures to allow someone to score on a Saturday afternoon?’

Sportsmail columnist Chris Sutton, whose father Mike — a former player — is suffering from a degenerati­ve disease caused by repetitive brain trauma, said: ‘This is hopefully just the start. Nobody is calling for a heading ban in the senior game, just sensible measures which should be introduced.’

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said: ‘This guidance will help coaches and teachers reduce and remove repetitive and unnecessar­y heading from youth football. Our research has shown heading is rare in youth matches, so this guidance is a responsibl­e developmen­t without impacting the enjoyment children take from the game.’

The Football Associatio­n of Wales is continuing to review its guidance on children heading the ball.

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